If Obamacare becomes a great success, I’ll be happy to take back everything I said

The catastrophic launch of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, was finally acknowledged as the huge screw up it is by the only man left in America who hadn’t recognized how big a screw up it is. “This is on me”, said a chastened President Barack Obama after first saying, “This is on us.” Misery does love company. (Carolyn Kaster, AP Photo)

Last week The Harrisburg Patriot-News retracted an editorial written by their newspaper ancestors way back in 1863.

“In an editorial about President Abraham Lincoln’s speech delivered Nov. 19, 1863, in Gettysburg”, said a contrite editorial last week, “The Patriot & Union failed to recognize its momentous importance, timeless eloquence, and lasting significance, The Patriot-News regrets the error.”

What exactly did they say about one of history’s greatest public orations?

“We pass over the silly remarks of the president,” the paper wrote five days after Lincoln spoke. “For the credit of the nation, we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall be no more repeated or thought of.”

While Honest Abe’s words moved a nation to tears, the brain trust at the then Harrisburg Patriot-Union thought the Gettysburg Address was “silly” and would soon be forgotten.

We’ve all been there.

During the 2002 NBA finals I picked the Nets over the Lakers.

I’d like to retract that.

So I’m willing to cut the Harrisburg people some slack. Frankly, it’s not like any of us in the opinion game are surgeons or pilots or even cab drivers. If we make a mistake the worst that can happen is we get fired, or sued for libel, or a subscription canceled. It’s not like anyone’s going to die because of one of my bone-headed opinions. It’s not like I can get your health insurance canceled.

And that brings me to the other noteworthy mea culpa delivered last week.

The catastrophic launch of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, was finally acknowledged as the huge screw up it is by the only man left in America who hadn’t recognized how big a screw up it is.

“This is on me”, said a chastened President Barack Obama after first saying, “This is on us.” Misery does love company.

While the words may have stuck in his throat like a fishbone, the President finally remembered where the buck stops and took responsibility for a blunder that threatens to destroy his Presidency.

How bad is it?

Last week The New York Times compared the Obamacare rollout to President Bush’s blundered response to Hurricane Katrina.

Ouch.

Maybe 50, 60 or even 150 years from now the Times will want to retract that. After all, Katrina’s impact fell upon only one part of the country while Obamacare threatens to throw the health care of the entire nation into chaos.

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And Republicans couldn’t be happier. They celebrate at their own peril.

Scoring political points at the expense of the American people is a dicey game at best; especially when the GOP had majorities in the House, Senate and the Whitehouse and failed to address the very real crisis millions of American’s face due to pre-existing conditions, costly end of life care and access to affordable, quality care.

But the President brought his current problems on himself.

With arrogance and hyper-partisanship team Obama strong-armed a deeply flawed bill through Congress and launched it despite its obvious flaws.

“I didn’t know” said the President last week for the umpteenth time, his stock response to every controversy that has beset his blunder-plagued second term.

It’s his job to know.

And we need to know how high the stakes are. Not only is health care for millions on the line, we face the specter of a rudderless government for the next three years.

Obviously conservative opposition will continue, after all the job of an opposition party is to oppose. But their ranks are quickly swelling with disaffected independents and frightened Democrats running for the exits, a dangerous distraction at a dangerous time in world history.

The country paid a heavy price for Nixon’s ethical meltdown and while Bill Clinton was preoccupied with Monica Lewinsky and countless other scandals, a homicidal plot was hatched in the mountains of Afghanistan resulting in the September 11th attacks and more than a decade of war.

It’s not too late for Barack Obama, but it’s getting late.

The President must clean house immediately beginning with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. That’s the easy part. He also has to start listening rather than lecturing, including the evil Republicans. They were elected, too.

What he shouldn’t do under any circumstances is sign a rotten Iran nuclear weapons deal in a bid to change the subject.

If Obamacare turns out to be a great success, a beloved bedrock of American life like the once equally vilified Social Security system, I’ll be happy to retract everything I’ve said here today.